As parents, Pete and I take all of those things very seriously. Safety is always something we are thinking of. I've been a resident of California since I was born, and Pete has been here just about 20 years. When California Senate Bill 183 went into effect on July 1, 2011, making it mandatory for all California homes to have a carbon monoxide alarm installed, we were already way ahead of them. We've had them throughout our home for as long as I can remember!

One thing I didn't realize was that they have an expiration date. Did you know that? Over time dust and other airborne contaminants build up in the alarm’s sensing chamber and the buildup interferes with its ability to detect high levels of carbon monoxide within the home. Yikes!

This is important for those of us that have always had them and those that added one to their home when the law happened. Since it is almost 7 years later, those very alarms that were purchased following the law going into effect are going to expire.

Even more importantly, the alarm will start beeping after seven years to indicate the need for replacement. But the tricky part is that the ‘replace me’ beep is all-to-often confused with a ‘low battery’ beep.

Are you following me on all this? I know my head was spinning for a bit.

The facts are that if you have had your alarm for over 7 years or it is coming up on 7 years, it's time to replace it. If you bought your alarm when the law passed 7 years ago, it's time to replace it. If you hear it beeping, don't assume it is low batteries. If it has been close to 7 years, or you can't even remember when you bought your alarm, it is time to replace it.

Second big point- even if you are outside of California, this is all true for you, too. If you don't have a carbon monoxide alarm or if yours is close to or over 7 years or you can't even remember when you bought it… now is the time.

If you need a quick reminder on CO I totally don't blame you! Here is more info:

CO is produced anytime fuel is burned. Potential sources of CO include the following household items. Heating systems can be particularly dangerous as they are responsible for 65% of CO poisoning deaths from consumer products.

All of these can cause CO to get into your home, that is why you need an alarm.

Not wanting to take any chances with CO poisoning, we just added more Kidde Carbon Monoxide Alarms to our home. We added them near our bedrooms, outside the laundry room, in the kitchen right past the garage door and in the room above the garage.

We also are using one that you plug right into the outlet, which has a battery as a backup in case the power goes out.

These are super easy to install, and they have a lot of other choices, too, so you can find the right one for your home or area in the home.

We also involved the kids in this. We feel it is very important to teach the kids, especially the teens why we have these alarms so when they get their own places later in life they, too, will take this important safety measure.

Of equal importance, we also want kids to know what to do if it beeps, whether that be replacing new batteries to understanding when they need to evacuate the home. Hearing the beep can be scary, but knowledge is power and if know what it means when it beeps and what they need to do, it empowers them to take immediate action.

We love CAL Fire and our firefighters, and I love that Kidde is working hard to drive awareness around the upcoming need for CO alarm replacement with the campaign titled, Beat The Beep. I'm so happy to be helping to share the message, too, that we need to get these alarms replaced ASAP before the 7-year expiration beep starts!

I have a great promo/coupon code to share with you too!

Get a jump start on getting your alarms replaced by using “BEATTHEBEEP” for 20% off all CO and CO combo alarm products on Kidde.com.

Heather Delaney Reese is a Lifestyle and Family Travel Writer currently on the road with her family 150 days a year, sharing exceptional family memory making moments and life's everyday fun times. She is a big proponent of encouraging others to join her journey and become a professional blogger so that they too can make money at home and spend more time with their families.

Our CO alarms are monitored by our alarm company and I don’t think they have ever told us to change them, which is quite bothersome. I will be contacting them to follow-up about this as I know they are more than 7 years old.

This is a must in every home. This is going to give us peace of mind that we will be alerted when an increase in carbon monoxide is present. We have installed ours a few months back and it has given me a more restful sleep at night.

My husband is a licensed electrician who does the electrical work for 1,000+ apartments in the nearby college town of Boone. Not only does he install carbon monoxide alarms but he installs a lot of smoke alarms. Get in the habit of pushing the “test” button at least once a month. And replace the batteries in smoke alarms once a year….we replace ours around my birthday in August every year whether they need it or not. That being said, if it’s a 7 year or 10 year battery, then replace those every 7 or 10 years. The main thing is to always keep fresh batteries on hand and test the alarms on a regular schedule.

We don’t have a furnace or internal portable generator but I didn’t realize that all the other heating appliances were also a potential risk. I have read about CO poisoning and alarms however and have thought about installing them in our home.

Thank you for the reminder! My family had a Scare on Christmas. New furnace, something went wrong. Luckily, we had a carbon monoxide monitor and the alarm went off. I thought it was the low battery alert in smoke detector. When it went off the second time I knew what it was and we called the fire dept. We were told to get our family out now.
When the firefighters arrived they had to wear masks, that’s how high the cm level was in the house and we never knew. We would of gone to sleep and none of us would of survived it. After reading your blog. I’ll be buying my entire family new ones. Thank you.

Thank you for drawing awareness to this issue! I would like to add that it is also important to get a portable CO detector to take with you when you travel. NEVER assume that the places you are staying in have maintained, or even installed, detectors. Also, never assume they have maintained, or correctly repaired, appliances that produce this toxic gas. A little over 1 year ago my uncle and aunt stayed in a hotel overnight. Late the next morning they were both found lying in the floor of their hotel room, unresponsive. They were the victims of CO poisoning due to a negligence of the hotel staff. They were flown to a larger hospital nearby. Over the next week they both finally woke up. However, they were never to recover. In just a few months, my aunt passed away due to complications of the severe CO poisoning. Then just a few days before Christmas last year, my uncle passed away as well due to CO poisoning. They were active, lively, and healthy adults in their 60s. They loved scuba diving, horseback riding, and their grandkids. The point is, they were strong and this toxic gas did horrific damage to their bodies. PLEASE, install and maintain CO detectors in your houses, but also, please take one along when you travel!

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